Demons
by Thaedras
Summary: A half-dead shinobi is wandering through the desert close to Suna. Chance brings her across the sand siblings, how will they get along? And what will happen when they find out what she's running from? GaaraOC, takes place 6 months before Shippuden
1. Chapter 1

****IMPORTANT READ ME! This is written like my Rock Lee fic, in a first person way for the same reasons. However, the POV changes sometimes in this one, but it's still meant to be read as if you are are person the story's about.**

_Have to keep going... _you drag one foot after the other through the sand. It seems as though you will meet your death in this desert. What a miserable and pitiful end. _After all the things I've been through, the ANBU hunters aren't even going to get their chance to fight me. To die; just shrivel up in this endless waste, _you think.

You had run out of water nearly two days previous. Your eyes were red from the air and your lips were cracked. The only comfort offered to you in this hellish place was your umbrella, shielding you from the relentless sun. At the top of yet another dune you look out and see a small group of rocks quite a distance away. _The only thing in this hell but me. _No choice but to press on.

A misstep sends you tumbling down the steep dune, kicking up sand all the way down. You come to rest finally at the bottom, face up towards the brutal sun. You turn your head to the side and see your umbrella lying a few feet away, broken to pieces by the fall. _Well, this must be it,_ you think. _The end of my miserable life. Can't even say I enjoyed it that much. _It had always seemed, even before this cursed desert, that life had something against you. You close your eyes, holding an arm over your face and think about your past. Moments coming to you more and more often in the last few days, haunting you, making you question your sanity.

_Maybe I already died, and this is my hell._ The thought actually brings a laugh up out of you. Lying there baking in the sun, you feel so tired. You think about going to sleep and resigning. It would be so easy just to drift... drift away...

Sound. Movement. You snap your eyes open, your keen ears picking up on the sound of small feet moving across the sand to your right. Moving your eyes over your heart quickens as you spot a desert lizard about the size of your forearm skipping across the sand. You move slow, getting in position as it ventures closer. You hold your breath, poised, and pounce. Glee fills your heart as you feel your fingers close around its wriggling form. Silently you thank it before killing it quickly. You tear its head clean off and drink, letting its blood flow down your throat. If you weren't so dehydrated you would cry tears of joy. After you drain the small creature of its fluids you start to eat greedily. Under normal circumstances, you do prefer your meat cooked, but it tastes delicious to you right now.

When you finish, you stand, shaking the sand out of your clothes and begin walking again with renewed energy and a slightly renewed spirit. _I will reach those rocks before nightfall, _you tell yourself.

An hour later however, you don't feel so optimistic. Even though the sun in sinking in the sky you feel as hot as ever, even hotter in fact. But you stumble on, staggering towards the rocks that still seem like mere dots to you.

You trip again and fall to your knees in the sand and stare down at your hands. What is happening to you? You feel so strange. There is a light feeling at the back of your neck, arcing through your arms and you watch sweat drop down into the sand in front of you. Each drop thundering down, was it really that loud? Or is that your heart you're hearing? You scramble up and start to run, alarmed at the symptoms you're feeling. _What's going on with me?_ You think helplessly to yourself. _This can't be just the heat, but what then?_

You gasp as you top the next dune, stopping yourself so suddenly that you land face first in the sand. Eyes wide, you peek over the top down on about twenty shinobi battling. Under normal circumstances you would consider joining in, or simply stealthing around them, liberating a few money purses on the way, but again, this was definitely not any normal circumstance. It seems to be about four against the rest, you notice, but something seems strange. You rub your eyes. _No way._ You blink at a shinobi that is closest to you. He is dressed in black and is directing a battle puppet with blue chakra strings attached to one of his hands. There was also a man standing beside him with a puppet as well, mirroring his movements. _Oh crap... _you grumble as you realize you're seeing double. You think about if you should make your way back down the dune or just stick it out where you are. No one has noticed you so far.

But before you can decide, one of the attacking shinobi jump behind him and you react without thinking, planting a kunai in the back of his neck. The black-suited shinobi spins around, surprised at your appearance and action. You weave on the spot, the man multiplying and blurring before your eyes.

"Damn, I was aiming for the one in the middle," you say before collapsing into a world of darkness.

**Temari's P.O.V.**

You watch as your brother's would-be attacker was downed by a kunai produced by an unknown shinobi.

"Kankuro?" you call, concerned, finishing off the last of your enemies.

"I'm alright," he calls back, leaning on Karasu.

"What happened?" you ask as you walk up to him.

"I don't know, she just popped up out of nowhere," he said, gesturing to the crumpled form of a girl not too far away. "I guess I owe her one, but I didn't see what hit her." You walk over to the girl, checking her out. She was still breathing, but there was an unusual amount of sweat coming off her, and her breathing seemed labored.

"Kankuro!" you say quickly. He rushes over to see for himself.

"She's poisoned," he says. "I don't know what from, but I think I can treat it." He took out a small phial and tipped it into the girl's mouth before shutting it and holding her nose, ensuring that she would swallow it.

"That should do for now, but we should get her to Sunagakure as soon as we can."

"So where should we take her?"

"Well, she did save my life."

**Later...**

You and Kankuro are at your home inside the walls of Sunagakure, the village hidden in the sand. You had taken your guest from the desert inside where Kankuro and a few other medical nin worked out a proper antidote for her.

"So she was poisoned by a lizard?" You fold your arms, leaning back against the wall in your living room facing your brother.

"Yeah. The wild shishito lizard. It inhabits the desert around Suna, but their bite is poisonous," Kankuro replied from his place on the couch. "The only thing is that usually a bite or two isn't enough to come close to killing a person. She however, had massive amounts in her system that definitely would have killed her. I don't suppose she could be stupid enough to eat one, who would eat a bright orange lizard anyway?" Your laughs were cut short when your younger brother appeared in the doorway.

"G-Gaara..." Kankuro stammered, staring at the red-head. You decide to take over, knowing that Kankuro still got nervous around Gaara sometimes.

"Gaara, we have the report on the Reishi shinobi, but we well, we picked up a guest in the desert. She appeared out of nowhere you see when we were fighting the Reishi and saved Kankuro's life before passing out." Gaara's face remained unreadable as he stood there and listened. You decided to plow on then. "It turns out she was poisoned, so we took her here, gave her an antidote and she's sleeping in the guest room right now." Gaara's eyes traveled to his brother, who did not appear to be injured in any way, then back to his sister.

"Did she really save his life?" he asked.

"Uh, well I suppose I could have survived that kunai in the back of the neck maybe. Yeah, I guess I owe her one," Kankuro said in a resigned tone. Gaara turned and walked down the hall toward his study. He didn't even pay attention to his steps as he walked through the cooradores, his mind occupied with his task at hand. A strange girl or woman had saved his brother's life today. Gaara was now the first to admit that in these past few trying years as Kazekage, he had learned to value his family, maybe even appreciate them. He frowned as he reached his destination and turned the doorknob. Inside was a room with a desk, bookshelves, and many windows. Gaara settled down in the chair behind the desk and sighed before starting to go over the paperwork that was jumbled about on top of it. He decided he would deal with the girl later. After all, Temari had said that she was resting at the moment.

**Your P.O.V.**

You sit up suddenly, waking from your sleep and startling Temari and Kankuro who were in the room. You put a hand to your swimming head before blinking up at the world. Relieved, you see that everything is coming into focus, and your head is no longer pounding. You look at the two other people in the room nervously and scoot backwards on the bed.

"Where am I? And who are you?" you ask quickly. When your eyes fall on the man in the room, realization strikes your memory. You remember the fight out in the desert. That was the guy with the puppet jutsu that you had saved, for sure. But that still didn't explain where you were.

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you," the blond girl explained. "My name is Temari and this is my brother Kankuro. You're in our house in Sunagakure."

"Suna... gakure?" you rub your temple a bit, trying to remember things fully and correctly. Just where had you been heading?

Temari began to explain everything that had happened. About you being poisoned and all. You blush but remain silent when she told you that it was that lizard that had poisoned you. You supposed it had it's last laugh there, you think to yourself. Temari seems very nice, and Kankuro seems a little louder and annoying, but he _was_ the poison expert who saved your life, so you thought you could overlook that.

"So, what's your name? Why were you out in the desert?" Temari asked after they had explained everything. You look down at the sheets on the bed you're on, unsure how to take all of this kindness.

"Kyo. I was just trying to get from here to there," you say shortly. The siblings exchange a look as you keep your gaze down.  
"Well, we'll let you get some more rest now," Temari said, standing and moving toward the door, followed closely by Kankuro. "Feel free to make yourself at home then; bathroom is on the right and the kitchen is to the left," she said, pointing. She paused when they were almost all the way out. "Oh, and don't worry if you run into our younger brother, he can be grumpy sometimes. But don't worry, we already told him about you. He's usually busy being Kazekage and all, so you might not even see him. Anyways, get some rest now!" And they were gone from the room. You lay back down on the bed and relax, letting your eyes close again. You suppose it couldn't hurt to get some more rest.

**An unknown number of hours later...**

You wake up to find your room empty. Stretching out a bit, you decide to test out how well you'd recovered from the poison so far. You stretched your limbs out and around and found that you were in pretty good shape. You just couldn't believe that stupid lizard had been poisonous! Well, I guess I've learned my lesson then... never eat a bright orange lizard even if you're about to starve. Although, would I rather die of starvation or poison? Hmm... your thoughts wandered a bit as you make your way out of the room and down the hall to the right.

As you emerge from the bathroom again, you look around. All the lights in the house were turned off, so although you couldn't see out a window at the moment, you were sure it would be some hour in the night. So everyone's asleep and I'm wide awake, you think to yourself. Just great...

Deciding not to try skipping town just yet, you wander around the house for a while longer, observing, before hopping out of an open window and crawling onto the roof. From up there, the cool desert night air blows past you, billowing under your clothes and through your hair. You sigh, tucking long red tresses back behind your ears as your eyes look all around the sleeping village of Suna. It wasn't until you hear a cough beside you that you realize that you are not alone up on the roof.

Slowly, you swivel your eyes to the side and see a figure sitting not too far away, at the edge of the roof. It's a guy. And he's staring right at you.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to bother you," you say quickly, bowing respectfully. Then you remember just who this probably is. He had short hair the same color as yours and was wearing a dark outfit with a large gourd on his back. Actually it was a ridiculously big gourd. But you recognize it. You knew about Sunagakure's new Kazekage. The youngest son of the previous Kazekage, Sobaku no Gaara... it was still a feared name. You were surprised to see how young he was as you looked at him, but knew not to underestimate him for that.

You hover on your toes, unsure weather you should step forward and thank him for the use of his home or make a swift retreat. Fortunately, you were saved from making the final decision when he spoke. It was a cool and measured tone through which you could not detect emotion.

"Come here." It wasn't a request, but not quite an order. You still feel your feet compelled forward until you find yourself standing right beside him.

"H-hai?" you question, sounding more uncertain than frightened. He stood up and faced you. You look into his eyes and blink with a little more surprise. He was taller than you. You had to look up slightly to meet his aqua gaze, waiting for the explanation of why he had called you over.

"Are you the one Temari and Kankuro brought out of the desert?" he finally asked.

"Hai." There was a long pause.

"Arigato." You blink. "For saving my brother," his words catch you off guard. You avert your eyes from his piercing stare, getting slightly embarrassed. You kick yourself mentally. What the heck are you doing?

"No, it was nothing really," you say, rubbing the back of your neck and keeping your gaze down, scanning the tiles on the roof one by one. "I'm surprised I hit the right target actually," you mutter. "That poison had me seeing double." You plop down on the roof, and run a hand through your hair, letting a small laugh escape your lips.

"Can you imagine, two guys running around with black kitty hats on?" You see Gaara's eye twitch slightly.

"One is enough," he says simply. You were glad he was not meeting your gaze, because you had just barely suppressed a laugh at his reaction. You took a deep breath and looked back out over the peaceful village. The night breeze blew over your skin and you looked at each house, thoughts bubbling up in the front of your mind. Just how long had it been since you had stayed in a large village like this, even set foot in one, and been able to sleep in an actual bed? How long had it been since you had even spoken with another person? You sigh again. A long time.

"I never had any siblings," you say, trying to derail your train of thought. Gaara swiveled his gaze to you, but you were lost staring over the smooth dunes of the desert in the darkness. "They always seem to get on each others' nerves, but I think it would be nice, worth it you know... You'd always have people that will stick with you. So, I'm glad I was able to save your brother Gaara-sama. I'd hate the idea of a family being broken up." You leaned back on your arms and stared up at the twinkling stars above your head. You heard a noise from Gaara.

"Nani?" you ask.

"Don't use 'sama' with me. I get that enough from everyone already," he said. You picked up on a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Oh. Ok, then uh, Gaara... san." There was no further complaint. You breathed a sigh of relief. You definitely wouldn't feel comfortable referring to the young Kazekage any more informally. In fact, now that you thought about it, you couldn't believe that you were up on a roof having such an informal conversation with a guy you had just met, who was the Kazekage!

"It's a beautiful night though, right?" you prompt, looking over at him. He was already looking back at you with those eyes of his. As you meet his gaze steadily you feel something behind your navel stir nervously.

"Hai." His lips barely move with the syllable as he takes his time returning his gaze to the horizon.

"I never thought that it could be this nice in a desert though," you say. "It gets real cold at night though. I was wandering around out there long enough to notice that." You rest your head on your knees again. You glance over at him a bit, expecting him to question you, but it doesn't come. You simply sit out in the night air, wondering when the sun would peek over the horizon. Unfortunately, you couldn't last that long. After what seemed only a short while, you feel your eyelids start to droop. Your blinks became elongated, promising you sweet sleep with each one until you feel yourself begin to truly drop off. Your body fell backwards towards the roof but you feel your shoulders slump against something soft, warm, and... flowing? You open your eyes and see much to your surprise that you are now laying on a bed of sand drifting out of the gourd on Gaara's back. He walked along the roof toward the open window that had served as your exit, you drifting along beside him.

He's going to carry me back to bed, you think groggily, smiling a little to yourself and feeling a slight flush come up to your cheeks. Arriving in the guest room you had stayed in previously, Gaara set you down gently on the bed. You shift and give a slight moan as he does this, waking from yet another mini-sleep. You stare up at him through half-lidded eyes.

"What's your name?" you hear him ask.

"Kyo..." you whisper before the comfort of the bed completely enraptures you and you fall asleep.

....

**Heehee! Gaara-kun dai ski!! Ahem. Hope you liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! The next chappie! Hope you enjoy!**

The next morning you stretch out in bed, long and good. You arc your back, point your toes, and flex your fingers, working out the extra stiffness that you knew would have accumulated due to your recent poisoning. Sure enough, your back, arms, and legs all responded with satisfying cracks and pops. Without even opening your eyes you relax and pull the covers back over you, but soon grumble when you realize your body is already awake for the day.

You open your eyes and immediately squint severely, throwing a hand over your face at the obtrusive sunbeam that shone right in your eyes. Ugh, why couldn't you ever go back to sleep when you wanted to? Finally giving up, you sit up and swing your legs around to the ground. Cracking your toes lazily, you blink at the nightstand beside you. On it is a tray with a small bottle and some powder in a small envelope. Written on the outside in what was obviously Temari's handwriting were the words: **Last dose! **

You mix the powder up in the bottle and drink it down quickly, making an awful face. It was so bitter and retched tasting, why did it have to be the thing that would save your life? You take a deep breath and sigh, setting the bottle back down on the tray and running your fingers through your hair like you always did. But when your fingers brushed over your forehead protector you froze. _Damn,_ you think, _I really need to take this thing off once and a while... I slept with it on_ again. You slide your fingers underneath it and slid it off your forehead.

The fabric had been black, but was now faded and old-looking, and the metal plate on the front was so worn and scuffed up that the symbol was no longer visible. You run your fingers over it's cool surface, feeling the slight indentations that were the very last remnant of the symbol for the Village Hidden in Rain. You close your fist around the hitai-ate, feeling your anger burning deep in the pit of your stomach. Hidden Rain... that's where you were running from. It's what you had been running from for over a year now. Amegakure... you hoped you never had to touch your feet to that deplorable, unsightly little country's soil ever again. You sigh and hold your head in your hands, letting your mind wander over the memories that surfaced when you thought of your past in that country. Hidden Rain...

_You stared at the grimy, filthy stone floor to which your face was pressed against. Your arms were shackled and bound securely with rope behind your back, and your ankles were attached to the wall of the miserable cell by a short chain. _

_You coughed a little, sending flecks of crimson blood splattering in front of you, adding to the layers of dirt, sweat, death, and who knows what else that made that smell. It was like fifty- no one hundred baboons had lived there their entire lives, then died and were left to decay in the room. And it was hot. _This must be what a furnace feels like on the inside_, you would often think to yourself. Sweat beaded on your forehead, constantly dripping down your bruised face, and sometimes into your eyes which were puffy as well (though the left wasn't nearly as bad as the right). They had been beating you every day since you had been brought there. _

_You no longer shed tears for your situation. You had used those all up during the first week. Now your anger was what fueled your will to hold out. Anger and hatred. You couldn't believe that just one month ago you had been a faithful shinobi of Amegakure, performing missions and helping guard the dangerous borders of the small country. Now you were a traitor, condemned to rot in this putrid cell until they led you off to be executed. _

_But you were falsely accused. They charged you with conspiracy against Hidden Rain and treason of the very highest. But you, Hanawara Kyo, were being condemned because you were a hanyou. A half-breed spawned from the 'despicable act' of a human and demon mating. When the village council had found out about your lineage, they had declared that you were "An abomination against nature and nation." Just for your presence in their land, you had earned yourself the highest crime punishable by death._

_You rolled a little more onto your back, looking up at the ceiling which was identical to the floor though, perhaps a bit cleaner... but not by much. How did this even happen? You asked yourself over and over again in your mind. _

_Growing up, you had traveled around the country with your mother since the time you could remember. She had told you that you were there because your village had been destroyed in a battle. Staying in the many refugee camps that were in Amegakure, the two of you scraped by as best you could. _

_Now, normally you looked just like any other human, with no physical features that were demonic in any way. But there were other differences that the people in the camps always seemed to notice after a while. Your strength, speed, and endurance were many times that of a human, and you had a hard time hiding it when you were younger. You never made any friends; the other children of the camps made fun of you because you were different, and sometimes feared you. _

_Now you said that you _normally_ looked just like any other human. It wasn't always the case though. Your mother taught you long and hard for years to control the anger and aggression that would manifest from your demonic blood; to ease and calm those feelings with your more logical, peaceful, human side. But it was hard to control your temper. Especially when you were young. In those times, you would feel all the anger and hate boiling up inside you like liquid fire. You would feel that fire pour through your entire body, and then you felt the power. Your nails became sharp claws, you gained a set of razor fangs, your pupils became slits, and dark markings would appear on the sides of your face, arms, and legs. While normally your strength and speed was much greater than a normal persons', when you transformed, your power increased many times over. _

_Every time you had transformed however, you and your mother had had to move. Because, not only did you gain a massive power increase when you underwent your transformation, you became extremely difficult to reason with. So, after her child had gone into a frenzied demon transformation in front of other townspeople (usually wreaking at least some havoc) your mother always knew it best to move on._

You threw the old forehead protector violently against the wall, making it sink at least an inch into the wood paneling with a reverberating 'thok'. You sigh and shake your head, reach up and pull it out, frowning at the hole in the wall that didn't used to be there. _Great, how am I going to explain that?_ you think to yourself sarcastically.

The door handle clicked and you snap your head up to see Temari poking her blond head into the room, looking slightly curious.

"Oh, you're awake? I'm surprised, it's early. I guess it was all that sleep you got yesterday," she said, opening the door and stepping inside. You hoped feebly that she wouldn't notice the hole...

"How are you feeling?" she asked. You flex and stretch your fingers and arms a little.

"I feel great," you say. "Thanks to you guys." You offer her a smile and stand. You opened your mouth to begin saying that you would be leaving when she spoke again.

"Well, would you like to get cleaned up then? I could wash your clothes for you too, uh, if you like," she said, eying your appearance. You look down at yourself. Your clothes were the only ones you owned and were worn, torn, faded, dingy, and you were most definitely in need of a shower. You looked back up at her and let out a nervous laugh.

"That would be nice," you say. Temari smiled at you and led the way down the hall and to the right into a room whose walls were painted purple. There was light colored furniture around the bedroom and what looked like a giant metal fan propped up in a corner. Everything was nice and tidy.

"Here, you can use my bathroom, it's a lot nicer," she said, opening a door to their right which led to a nice looking bathroom. She handed you a towel. "Just lay your clothes out and I'll try to see what I can do. I'll leave some clothes out for you, alright?"

"A-Alright," you say as you walk into the bathroom and shut the door behind you. There was plenty of space to move around in. To your left there was a vanity mirror with lights over it. You tried not to gasp at your reflection. Yes, you most definitely _need_ a shower.

You untie the ties that hold your thin khaki shirt around you and fold it up, then proceed to peel off your shorts and leg wrappings. Not sure whether or not to give up her undergarments, you lay them in a separate pile.

The water felt so good. It had been a while since you had bathed in an actual bathroom. You usually had to get clean as best you could in rivers and the like. You would wash yourself and your clothes at the same time. The only problems with that were that you either had to stay in the water or sit naked until your clothes dried every time. Plus, outdoor water sources were usually unpleasantly cold. But looking at the dirt and grime flowing down the drain brought you back to your memories of imprisonment in Hidden Rain. You had escaped that very night. The night before you were set to be executed. You had used the last of your strength to transform into your demon self and fled for your life. And ANBU hunters had been tracking after you ever since... that was what had made you wander into the desert without proper supplies. You sigh and lean your hand against the shower wall, letting the hot water run over your head.

It took you a solid 40 minutes of scrubbing, washing, rinsing, and repeating before you were convinced that you were dirt and sand free. Shutting off the water you wrapped the fluffy towel around yourself and stepped out of the tub/shower. Looking on the vanity counter you see that all of your clothes had been removed and replaced with a new clean-looking pile. On top were even a pair of brand new undies, with the tag still on and everything. They were a little frilly and thong-ish for your taste, but it was better than going commando. You shudder. But when you held up the other garment Temari had laid out for you, you face drops. It's a kimono... a _short_ kimono... You hang your head and pull it on, seeing no other choice.

Surprisingly, it was a good fit. It didn't seem like it would fit Temari, so you figured it was an old outfit of hers. You only get a little confused wrapping the layers around you and tying the obi and sash things properly. You brush your hair out before wringing the last of the water out of it into the tub. You guiltily see that you've left a large dirt ring in the tub. _Heh, I guess I'm just glad I didn't clog the drain with all that dirt!_ You laugh to yourself a little and smooth your hair a bit, looking at the mirror. Your hair still flipped up at the ends, even in its wet state. You're very pleased with your reflection compared to before. You had been a dirt goblin!

**Gaara's P.O.V. **

You're in your office in the Kazekage tower, standing by one of its large windows, looking over your village. But it's not any of your citizens that's on your mind as Baki continues to read a report of some kind behind you. _That girl..._ why did she linger in your thoughts? She was a stranger that had popped up out of nowhere. You thought of when the two of you sat together on the roof last night. _She wasn't afraid of me..._ you suddenly realized that was it.

You thought you had stopped acting like a monster over the last two years... you wanted to protect this village, and all the people in it... no matter what they thought of you. But, a lot of them were still afraid.

You close your eyes and her face appeared in your mind, her features in a gentle smile, eyes closed and head tilted to the side slightly.

"Kazekage-sama...? Gaara-sama, are you listening?!" Baki said exasperatedly.

_Kyo... what a strange name for a girl..._

_...._

**Whew! That was alot of non-talking story, but I wanted to tell your character's past (a bit at least). Sorry that there wasn't that much Gaara in this one, but don't worry, the next chapter will make up for that ;)**

**Oh, one thing... I try to use only common Japanese terms that everyone should know, but if you have any questions about a term that I use, feel free to ask.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Haha, I had planned on having this up this morning, but I had to go out with my brother's fiance to try on wedding dresses so I was pretty much gone all day. So, sorry for the delay and enjoy!**

...

You walk down the hall and into the kitchen where you see Temari at the counter, a pancake mix box in hand, and a look of deep contemplation on her face.

"So three of, that... and how many of those? That doesn't sound right. Should I change it?" You heard her muttering to herself as you walk over towards her.

"Temari-san. Temari?" You say, trying to get her attention. She snaps out of it and looks over at you, surprised at your 'sudden' appearance.

"Hey what're you- wow, you look great!" She cut across her own thoughts when she saw you, all clean and wearing the light purple kimono. "You look better in that than I used to." She sighed and started examining the box again. You look from her to the box and back again.

"Um..." She looked over at you again.

"Uh, well I could... y'know," you say, pointing to the box. Temari's eyes got wide.

"Really? Oh my god, thank you," she said holding the box out with a bowed head. "I stink at cooking and every day I have to listen to Kankuro complain about it." She had a very annoyed look on her face and she cracked her knuckles just thinking about it. You give a slight laugh.

"Well I'm a pretty good cook, so I don't mind," you say, beginning the process. Most everything was already out on the counter so you start measuring and adding all the ingredients together in a large bowl. You take a big spoon and start to mix everything up with surprising speed. (Ever tried to do that by hand? It sucks) Temari stared at you for a few seconds before speaking up again.

"Oh I just remembered, you can go ahead and keep those clothes," she said. You pause and look over at her.

"Temari-san, I can't-," you start but she cut across you with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"It's the least I can do."

You lift an eyebrow at her.

"Your clothes... they, they were so worn that they just fell apart when I tried to wash them!" she said trying to sound apologetic and still get across that it wasn't her fault. "Don't even worry about the clothes, I outgrew them a while ago so they were just sitting in my closet." You sigh.

"Arigato," you say and resume mixing everything together. Well, you supposed that the kimono was comfortable... even though it was a dress. _I've never liked the idea of dresses though..._ you think to yourself as you start to pour the batter onto the hot skillet. _Just the possibility, one gust of wind y'know... or a trip and fall, or you forget to cross your legs when your sitting... _You shake your head and flip the golden pancakes over. Perfect so far. But there were just too many possibilities for flashing your underwear in a dress. That's why you had never worn one before and missed your pants dearly. _At least it's not _that_ short... _Flip, and the first three pancakes are done. You dish them onto a holding plate on the counter before picking up the bowl again and pouring three more pancakes-to-be in the skillet.

"Wow, you're fast. And you're not burning them at all, or making a mess..." You look over and see a depressed look on her face.

"Uh, isn't that a good thing?" you ask, completing the next batch. She looked a little surprised before rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ah, it is. Of course it is! I'm glad, because I wont have to put up with Kankuro's complaining for once," she finished with a grin. But as if one cue, a voice drifted down the hall to their ears.

"Hey, that smells good. You're ordering out for breakfast too now?" Temari's face was priceless. She stomped down the hall and out of sight cracking those knuckles of hers. You smile and flip more pancakes onto the plate.

"What was that?" you hear Temari's voice yell followed by the very distinct sound of fist hitting head.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Kankuro's voice demanded back, rich with a whine. You hear footsteps as they begin to make their way to the kitchen.

"Man Temari, I just wanted to know what you'd ordered. It's not like I said you suck at cook-" Wham. Temari's fist came down on his head again. You let out a small laugh that catches his attention. When he spies you he freezes and looks you up and down with a grin.

"Kyo, is that you?" he asked, walking over to a counter near you.

"Ohaiyo Kankuro-san," you reply. "Go ahead and grab some, I'm almost done." He took a plate from a cabinet and put a few of the hot cakes on it and sitting at the table across from Temari.

"So how'd Temari get you to do all this huh?" he asked. You could feel the glare that Temari was sending his way without even looking.

"I offered to," you say and looked over your shoulder at him. You were a bit surprised to see that he was without makeup or kitty hat. You could see the similarities between him and Gaara now. They were definitely related.

"Well whatever the reason, you make an awfully cute cook in that outfit," he said, grinning at you.

_Then again, looks don't account for everything, _you think, tempted to heft the skillet down onto his head, but Temari had you covered.

"Hey you perv, quit being a lecher on our guest!"

"Hai hai hai," he grumbled, rubbing his sore head.

Flipping the stove off and putting everything away you finally grab yourself a few pancakes and sit down. You reach for the syrup and give your cakes a good dose before taking a bite. Delicious.

"Man, these are really good," Kankuro commented in between bites. You notice that he's really chowing down. "Oi Temari, how come you can't make them like this?" You laughed to yourself, watching the two go at it. _I suppose they're like this all the time... is that what it's like having siblings? _That thought made you realize something.

"Where's Gaara-san?" you asked the two of them. The bickering temporarily stopped.

"He's at the Tower no doubt. Since he doesn't sleep he works through the night a lot and sometimes doesn't come home for days," Temari said in an exasperated tone. You narrow your gaze at her curiously. _Gaara doesn't sleep? That explains why he was up on the roof last night... but I wonder why... _You don't say anything on the subject, sensing a slight tension between the two after Temari's words.

When you were done eating Temari made Kankuro do the dishes who begrudgingly complied. You could hear him grumbling a few things to himself as he scrubbed the dishes one by one. You stood and sighed. It was time for you to leave. You turned to Temari but she was too quick for you.

"Hey how would you like to go shopping with me? I'll go ahead and buy you another outfit since I ruined yours. Please, I'd really like to," she said, stopping you in your tracks. Man, what was with her timing? It almost seemed like she was trying to get you to stay, but you weren't that suspicious yet. You look at her face and wage an internal battle. On one hand you had no idea when the ANBU would track you to Suna and you were getting more restless, but on the other hand, these people had saved your life, and were being so friendly to you. It had been so long since you had had interaction with other people other than your fights for your life with the hunters. You couldn't help feeling a little deprived.

_Tonight. I'll leave tonight..._ you think. You nod to Temari and she grins wide.

When Temari had said shopping, she hadn't just meant for the clothes for you. She meant _shopping._ Now, you were a girl, you weren't against looking feminine or anything like that, but you didn't consider yourself 'girly'. And getting all excited trying on clothes was just a little too girly for you.

Back when you had been living the life of an Amegakure shinobi, the only clothes you owned were your ninja clothes, vest, and a pair of PJs. It's not like you had any dates or anything... you think grumpily, recalling life among normal people. After your mother's death you had moved into an academy dorm where you made a few friends, but none close enough to trust with your secret. Because of your smart mouth you had not been popular with the guys (or some of the teachers for that matter). But you had held your own. Unfortunately, the knowledge that you were one of the top students gave you little comfort when your roommates were busy getting ready for, or talking excitedly after going out with guys.

You started to feel frustration building up in your stomach as you stood by a rack of dresses that Temari was looking through.

"Man, it feels like I haven't been out in forever. I guess that's what happens when you're stuck living with your two brothers. Gaara at least isn't messy. Kankuro's the problem there," she chatted with you. "You wouldn't believe the messes he can, hey! Try this on!" _My, how she can switch gears... _She was holding out a long formal kimono to you.

"Temari, what would I," you start to protest.

"Oh, just for fun," she said, pushing you towards the dressing room that the two of you had been using. "Let me know if you need help with the obi." You pulled the garment off the hanger and over your shoulders and around yourself, tying the sash good enough. You open the door and Temari gaped at you.

"What?"

"Didn't you look in the mirror?" she asked, marching up to you and turning you towards the full length mirror that was inside the dressing room. "See?" You looked at yourself and was pleasantly surprised.

"It does look good doesn't it?" you say, turning a bit and adjusting the sleeves. "It is fun to try on, but what would I need a kimono for?" You sigh, but Temari got a mischievous smile on her face.

"Well, the annual Sand Festival is coming up next week," she said. "You're welcome to stay you know." You nod and look away from her. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being unfair." She shook her head. "It's just nice having another woman around. And I think that we could be good friends." You looked at her in the mirror and gave a sad smile.

"I'd like for us to be friends too Temari, but I don't know how much time I can spend here," you tell her. She sighed a little.

"Well it's you de- is that what time it is?!" she interrupted herself, seeing the clock. It read 3:37

"I need to get going," she said with a slightly panicked face. She ran over to the counter and put some money down on the counter. "We got these and those, I'll be back for them later. Sorry to run like this Kyo-chan, but it's important. Don't worry, I'll see you back at the house right?"

"Uh, yeah," you manage to say before she is out the door and off at ninja speed. You change back into your short light purple kimono and make your way over to the counter where the shopkeeper is ringing up purchases and counting money.

"That Temari-san has always been energetic. But she left too much money. Could you take this back to her? I'll be holding her purchases in the back alright?" You nod as the woman hands you a surprising amount. Whoa, what had Temari left on the counter? She had bought new clothes for herself, but had also bought you not one but two new outfits at her insistence. Temari had not been able to convince you to let her get more, saying one spare outfit was perfect for the road. But the money in your hand gave you an idea. You had been trying to think of something nice you could do for the Suna siblings for everything that they had done for you. So far, unsuccessfully, but now it was so simple. You couldn't believe you just now thought of it.

_If they're used to take out and burnt food, they'll flip over my Shinobi stir-fry! _You thought back to your academy days when you had always been assigned the menial chores: cooking, cleaning, etc. But that's when you had come up with a dynamite recipe that almost the entire school had gone nuts for. (hence its name)

There was a farmer's market nearby where you could get the things you needed; it wouldn't be that much at all. But you stop two steps out the door. There was the matter of Gaara. Temari had said that he sometimes didn't come home for days on end, so what guarantee would there be that he'd be there for dinner at all? To your left you saw a tower that had to be the one Temari had talked about. _But what am I going to do? Just walk up and ask him to come to dinner? _That actually sounded simple enough that it just might work. Not giving yourself any more time to debate, you started toward the tower.

Inside sand nin were bustling about, some looking a little frazzled. You were almost run over by a shinobi holding a stack of papers that looked as tall as he was.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he said as you helped steady the stack. "Um, you really shouldn't be in here you know. Is there something you needed?" You looked at him harshly for a second before realizing that you were no longer wearing your forehead protector and must look like a normal person.

"Well I, was here to see the Kazekage actually," you say, making him almost drop his stack of papers again. "I have a message from his sister Temari-chan." You got the point across that you were not a stranger to the family. "But I'm not sure where to find him, do you know if he's here?" The young shinobi tried to recover.

"H-Hai the Kazekage is in his office u-upstairs. It's on the top floor," he said.

"Thank you, um... do you need help with those?" you asked, eying the teetering stack in his arms. He seemed to debate internally for a bit.

"U-Uh, well I, _was_ going up there... I- are you sure?" he said and you took the top half of the stack.

"Well, lead the way." You couldn't imagine how the shinobi would have made it up the stairs with his full stack. Although you laughed a little to yourself imagining all those papers flying everywhere. (You're so evil, I know :p)

Once on the right floor the shinobi walked to a door and knocked as best he could with a knuckle. A second later it was opened by an older-looking shinobi with red markings on the side of his face and a cloth covering the other side.

"Ah, Kaito-kun. You didn't have to bring all those up yourself," he said kindly.

"Well I had some help from this kind lady here Baki-san. She says she needs to see Kazekage Gaara-sama." The older shinobi gave you a critical look.

"Could you please put those in my office Kaito?" The young shinobi nodded and you put your stack back on his before he walked through the open door.

"Greetings, my name is Baki and I am an adviser to Gaara-sama. Do not think me impolite, but what is your business with the Kazekage?"

"My name is Hanawara Kyo, and I'm a friend of Temari. I had something I wanted to ask him," you say as politely as you can.

"This way," he replied and led you down to the next door on the left. He opened it and stepped inside with you right behind him.

"Gaara-sama, Miss Hanawara Kyo is here to see you," he said and stepped aside, letting you see into the room. It reminded you to his study but was larger and of course had a much better view of the village from its high vantage point. On the other side of the room you spied Gaara standing by one of the windows, turning toward you. You froze.

You didn't know what it was, but the moment you looked at him your breath caught in your throat and your mind went totally blank as to why you had come here in the first place. _W-What's going on? y_ou asked yourself. _I saw him last night. Yeah, I know he's good looking... ok, he's really good looking. Maybe I didn't get a good look at him because it was dark..._ Meanwhile you could feel an embarrassed flush spreading on your cheeks as he looked back at you with an expression that mirrored your own.

Gaara's P.O.V.

You were staring at her. She looked... you didn't know what you thought. She just looked so different from the way she had the night before. She was wearing a short kimono that hugged her waist and all her other curves. Her red hair shone in the light and fell over her shoulders and behind her prettily. Her golden eyes were framed by long black eyelashes and her lips were full and parted slightly. Your eyes looked over her, taking in every detail. As your eyes met hers you saw her cheeks start to flush. _Is she blushing? _you ask yourself. Well, you were staring at her, but you hadn't meant to embarrass her. What had Baki said her surname was?

"Hanawara?"

Your P.O.V.

"Hanawara? You didn't say that last night," Gaara said. This made your face flush more as you saw Baki look at you quickly. Your gaze flicked to the floor nervously and you clasped your hands behind your back.

"Well I, was a little tired. Gomen," you reply. You saw Baki move out of the corner of your eye to the door. He excused himself and shut the door behind him, leaving you alone with Gaara.

"What did you need?" he asked, and to your relief he turned and walked over to his desk and sat. You took a few steps forward and a few steady breaths.

"Well, I was planning on making dinner tonight, as a way of saying thank you for all the things that you all have done for me," you say, sounding less nervous than you were. He looked up at you. "And well Temari mentioned that you sometimes you don't go home for days at a time, so I uh...," you faltered under his unyielding stare. "I wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready around 7:30. If you wanted to come that is."

"Dinner isn't usually something to look forward to in our house," he said, and you could see a look of recalled dinner disasters on his face. You smile a bit.

"Temari told me you guys order out a lot because of," you paused, "a lack of 'culinary talent' in the house."

"It's... not that bad," he said. Then added, "usually." That got you to laugh which made him look back up at you. You quickly stopped, putting a hand over your mouth.

"Sorry. I didn't mean... um," you stumble around for words. "I-I should get going now. I have to get some groceries before I start dinner." You turned and walked towards the door and was about to turn the handle when you felt a hand on your arm.

"Wait." You hear his voice close behind you. You turn and see him not two feet from you. _Damn... _you think. You hadn't even heard him move.

"I was almost done with my work for the day, I'll walk with you," he said, surprising you a little. "Is that alright?" he added.

"H-Hai," you replied quickly.

"I will be done in a minute, you can wait for me downstairs." You nodded and made your way out the door.

As soon as it shut you smacked yourself in the head. _What the hell is wrong with you?! _you demanded. _What's with you getting all blush-y and soft-spoken around him? You've been around good looking guys before! _You started down the hall toward the stairs. Smack. Smack. SMACK! You rubbed your forehead. That last one had stung a bit. _Now there's probably a big red mark on my face now on top of everything! I can't believe myself. _You sighed. _But, there's something about him that feels... familiar. Comfortable. _You didn't know any other way to describe it, but it was there. Both times you had been near him you had felt it.

Back in Gaara's office, as soon as the door had shut behind Kyo, the other door in the room had opened and Baki had walked in. He looked at Gaara standing by the door with an expression he hadn't seen before.

"Gaara-sama, do you mind me asking... are you and Kyo-san...? Are the two of you..." he couldn't seem to get it out.

"Are we what?" Gaara asked, turning to his adviser. He noticed the older man looked a little embarrassed.

"Are the two of you... seeing each other?" he asked. Gaara blinked at him.

"Seeing?"

"Are you dating her?" Baki said, slightly exasperated. Gaara was very surprised. Baki thought that they might be dating? Why would he think that?

"No. Why?" Baki was startled by the sharpness of the question.

"Well, just the way you talked about 'last night' and the way she reacted. Gomen ne, Gaara-sama, it isn't my business either way." Gaara looked back at the door.

"I'm leaving for the day Baki, will you take care of everything?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." Sand swirled around him and he disappeared.

...

**Yay! Another chapter done! And there was more Gaara in this one! Oh, Ohaiyo means 'good morning' to all those who don't know. I'm trying to use Japanese terms that most people will know, but if I ever use one that confuses you, don't hesitate to ask.**

**I put up a pic of the kimono that Temari gave you at .com/stories/8916185/demons-a-gaara-love-story-pt3 It's at the bottom of the page.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

_Hiatus over, let the stories roll in! My thanks go out to all of you who were so patient in waiting on my updates,__ and a special thanks to kittyahg from Quizilla who sent in the FIRST review on this story. I'm not one of those people who wont update without them, but seriously? I can see in my story stats that there are just as many fans of this as my Lee story, and that one has had plenty of rewiews. Well, ok on with the show. Hope you enjoy.  
_

**Chapter 4**

Sitting on the roof of the Sand sibling's home in the cool night air you can't get the day's events out of your head. _ I should be thinking about other things_, you tell yourself. _It's not as if I don't have my own problems to worry about... but still. _

When you had arrived after shopping for all the ingredients you would need for dinner that night, you had found the house in an uproar. Standing wide-eyed in the doorway Gaara and yourself had watched as Temari chased Kankuro around the house with a murderous look on her face and her fan in hand. Meanwhile, Kankuro was jumping out of her way with a huge smile on his face and a scroll clutched in one hand.

"That's mine you bastard!" she yelled, reaching back to use one of her wind techniques. You had jumped forward and caught her arm in time.

"Temari! You'll blow everything in the house away!" you said. "Now, just what has he-" but Kankuro had started to speak, getting everyone's attention. He was standing on the back of the couch in the living room at that point and was reading the scroll in his hands in an over-dramatic way.

"Oh, my dearest Temari!" he declared. "Words cannot describe the-ahhh!" He fell off the back of the couch as Temari made a jump for him. "The wind that sweeps your oww! OW! That hurts!" He continued on as they continued to hear a scuffle behind the couch.

You chuckle a bit, remembering how Gaara had wordlessly separated the two while you had started to make dinner. Of course that reminded you all over again about why you were sitting up on the roof brooding. You hated that you let little things get to you, and this was just so... silly! You kicked yourself mentally.

During dinner Temari and Kankuro had been so impressed by your food that they couldn't shut up about it. They had even temporarily forgotten about their fight earlier in the presence of the alluring Shonobi stir-fry. But Gaara...

You stamped your foot on the roof, making a noise of frustration. That stupid Gaara hadn't said a single word! He just sat there, ate, then left to go up to his study. But what were you thinking anyway? _It's not as if it matters if I get along with any of them. I can't stay any longer even if I wanted to. Do I want to?_ Your eyes scanned over the sleeping city of Suna again and you sighed. The peaceful city called to your heart, stirring feelings that you did not think you had anymore. Was it just being in a town again after so long, or was it something else?

You turned your head quickly, hearing someone else on the roof and saw Gaara standing a ways away, looking at you. You couldn't help but marvel at his eyes, whose color were visible even in this low amount of light.

"Would you prefer to be alone?" he asked after a while. You faced front again and shrugged.

"Doesn't matter," you say a little prickly. After another minute or so you hear him walk over and sit down beside you. He seemed to have an uncertain air about him, but you stubbornly keep your gaze off him with your mouth shut.

"The dinner was, very good," he said after an even longer pause. "Thank you Kyo-san." You look over at him with a bit of a surprised look but find that he is leaning back on his hands with his eyes up on the sky. The look on his face was almost an embarrassed one. Well, better late than never, you think as you smile slightly.

"Your welcome," you say, tucking your knees up and staring out across the desert. Staring at the long unending dunes that stretched out into the darkness of the night relaxed you somehow. You closed your eyes and let out a sigh, feeling the tension leaving your neck, back, and shoulders. You could have stayed like that forever, just listening to the wind over the sand, but inside you felt something stir. Something near you was making your demonic blood excited. You looked over and saw that Gaara was holding his head as if he had just a slight headache.

"Gaara-san..." you say uncertainly. He turned his eyes to you and lowered his hand. And there it was again. You begin to feel an almost giddy nervousness in your gut as you work up the nerve to speak.

"Today, earlier I mean. Um, when we were walking through town..." Gaara watched you patiently as you didn't seem to be getting anywhere. You finally looked up to meet his gaze.

"Your people are afraid of you. I could see it clearly enough. Why?" Gaara's face took on a hard expression and he finally looked away.

"Gomen, but..." you said before stopping. But what? You still wanted to know? It wasn't even your business, and you were asking him something personal. You hadn't even known him that long! You began to mentally kick yourself for what seemed like the millionth time when he spoke up.

"They are still afraid of me, yes. They always have been, but I don't blame them." You watched as he sighed and expression came to his face for what seemed like the first time. He looked disappointed, but maybe also a bit relieved.

"I have a demon inside me Kyo. That's why they're afraid of me." You managed to suppress your gasp. "Shukaku, the one-tailed demon is sealed, in here," he said, placing a hand on his stomach. "I used to think that I was fine with everyone hating me. I swore that I would love myself enough for their absence. I sought meaning in mindless blood and murder. Until..." he paused. "That guy, he showed me that there was more to life. It was the same time I became the Kazekage that I decided that I wanted to protect the people of Suna."

You couldn't believe it. You were on the verge of tears. You had never heard of such a thing as a demon being sealed inside a person, and couldn't imagine the things he would have had to deal with in his life. At least you had always had your mother who loved you no matter what you had done. You looked down at the roof and willed your tears to go away.

Gaara's P.O.V.

You sat there in disbelief. You had only planned on saying a bare minimum of an explanation, what had made you go on like that? Shukaku was still complaining inside you but you forced his voice out of your head. You admitted finally that you liked being around Kyo. She was always open with you and had never showed a sigh of fear, and you couldn't keep such a secret from her. It was all so confusing in your head, but at least it was out now.

For a long while you both sat in silence until you finally shifted your gaze over to her. Of all the things you were expecting, none of them were what you saw. Kyo was sitting beside you with tears in her eyes. Her gaze was out across the desert and she had a hand on her heart, with an almost pained expression on her face. You really weren't sure what was going on.

"Kyo, are you ok?" you asked. She made a sound and blinked a bit before turning her gaze toward you. You saw that the tears were almost all gone. Not one had fallen.

"I'm sorry," she said with a little embarrassment. "You... you must have had a difficult time growing up, because of it. I'm sorry." And she looked right in your eyes. She wasn't afraid. Why wasn't she afraid? You asked yourself. But your internal debate was interrupted.

Kyo leaned forward and said, "Gaara, I... I..." Her cheeks were slightly flushed but she couldn't seem to get whatever it was out. She seemed to think twice and stood abruptly.

"I have to go to sleep, excuse me," she said and retreated off the roof quickly, leaving you staring where she had been. You laid back on the roof and looked up at the night sky. You couldn't even begin to wonder what that had been about. But that wasn't what was on your mind. The way her face had looked, tears brimming her eyes, clutching her heart... She was just so different from anyone you had met before.

___

Your P.O.V.

The next morning, you sat up in bed feeling miserable. If anything, last night had convinced you that it was time to leave. _I have to go before I get any more attached to this place... or these people_, you thought more miserably. You were scared again. Scared of the hunters catching up with you and everyone finding out your secret. Better just to disappear and them to remember you the way they knew you now. But even that was a ridiculous thought you realized. The ANBU would most likely end up here anyways in their search and then everyone would know anyway. You bit back your frustration at the thought of what Temari would think of you when she knew that you had been lying to her this whole time. You couldn't even guess what Gaara would think. Part of you hoped that because of his own demon he would not think of you as a monster, but another part told you that he would resent you all the more for it.

_Yes_, you told yourself. _Only one thing to do._ Getting dressed in the new outfit that Temari had bought you, you packed up everything you would need and left a note on the table by your bed. With a sigh you jumped out of your window and began making your way stealthily to the edge of town, ready to leave Suna forever.

**Earlier that day at dawn...**

Gaara appeared on the top of the gates of Sunagakure that were barred shut, a few shinobi standing guard in front of them. Baki was standing to his right as they all looked at three figures approaching in the early light. Gaara narrowed his eyes at them.

They were all wearing dark robes that were a little worse for wear, probably due to a rough journey through the desert. But this was the least of Gaara's thoughts as he surveyed them carefully. The thing most prevalent in his mind at the moment was the masks that all three were wearing.

"AMBU, Gaara-sama," Baki said and looked over at him, awaiting his reaction.

"Let's see what they want," Gaara said and made a motion with his arm, beckoning them. They held their hands up a bit, showing they were friendly and approached the gate. As they got closer Gaara saw that all of their hitai-ate bore the symbol of Amegakure. This peaked his curiosity further, as well as his suspicion. He didn't know why they were there, but he already sure that it was not for good.

"Greetings! We didn't expect a welcome from the Kazekage himself, but we're grateful all the same," the middle ANBU member called up to Gaara when they stopped in front of the gate. Gaara merely stared down at them with his arms crossed in front of him. The ANBU member pushed his mask back off his face and looked back up at Gaara.

"Amegakure has no quarrel with Suna Gaara-sama, be assured. We are hunters who have merely lost track of our prey. It may be that they died in the desert, but there's a chance that they made it here. They're very dangerous, you see so it's important that we find them again," he said.

"Who are you looking for?" Gaara asked. He was giving the man a very unfriendly look.

"A monster," he replied. "See for yourself." He pulled out a scroll and held it up. Without a word Gaara reached out with his sand and lifted the scroll up in front of himself. He rolled it open with one hand, reading the wanted poster with a tight jaw. He tried to stay calm while he read the list of charges, and also where it said 'Sentenced to death.' There was a picture as well, but he had only needed a glance.

"She looks like a woman though right?" the ANBU called up. "But don't let that fool you. She's an abomination, and the sooner we carry out her sentence the safer we'll all be." Gaara rolled the scroll back up while Baki watched him apprehensively. "Not to mention that I'll be able to sleep a lot better knowing there's one less monster in the world."

"So what do you want?" Gaara asked, sending them the scariest death-glare yet, causing them to take a step back.

"Well, we'd like to be able to search the village. With the cooperation of your shinobi of course Kazekage-sama," the lead ANBU said.

"No," Gaara replied instantly. The ANBU exchanged looks with each other before he continued. "Although, as you said, we have no quarrel with each other, we also have no set peace agreements. I wont have ANBU in my village doing as they please, even if it is to catch a criminal." He was glaring at them, but was speaking in a calm manner. "We will conduct a thorough search, and surrender the criminal back to you if we find them. Until then, you may wait." The ANBU didn't look too pleased, but didn't object. Gaara turned to Baki who was still looking at him uncertainly.

"Gaara-sama..."

"Get some more guards out here to keep an eye on them Baki. I don't want them inside the walls. I'll take care of this," he said, clutching the scroll in his hand. Baki nodded and disappeared. Gaara turned towards his city, not sure how to feel. Things were clicking together in his brain at an alarming rate. Your appearance, the charges against you, the ANBU's frequent use of the word 'monster', and even your last statements the night before. _She seemed like she had been trying to tell me something_, Gaara thought. And now he knew what. He had spoken confidently to Baki but he was not at all sure how he was going to handle this situation. One thing was sure though, he needed to speak to you.

As he walked through the hallway towards your door he slowed his pace. The sun had fully risen now, sending beams of light cutting through the house and it occurred to him that everyone was still asleep. He brought a hand up to knock, but hesitated. Finally he moved his hand to his eye and concentrated, using his sand eye technique to conjure his 'third eye' inside your room.

You were lying in bed in your underclothes, with your covers twisted and knotted around you. It looked like you had a rough night. Moving his eye closer he could see wide tear stains down your cheeks, and your eyebrows were knitted together. _Did she cry herself to sleep? _

You stirred restlessly and let out a light moan.

"...Gaara..." you said in a pained voice, as fresh tears streamed from your eyes and you continued to toss in your sleep. Gaara took a step back form the door and leaned against the wall, discontinuing his technique. He placed a hand on his chest, trying to work through the feelings coursing through him. That one call of his name had brought up a strong protective instinct in him. He cared about you, that was clear enough. And he certainly didn't trust the word of those ANBU hunters. He stood up straight, deciding what he would do, and then how he would handle you when he returned. He glanced at the door once more before departing the house to look for Baki. They had a lot of work to do.

___

Gaara returned to the house a few hours later. They had just finished putting on a big show of conducting a search of the village. Then he had had to go and report their 'findings' to the Amegakure ANBU and convince them that their search was better pressed to comb the desert where the fugitive's dead body was likely to be. He sighed and opened the front door, preparing questions he would be asking Kyo soon, but was surprised when he was met quickly by a teary-eyed Temari.

"Gaara! Gaara, I just woke up and... she's gone," she said, trying to put on a brave face while holding onto the note that you had left. Gaara stared at the note in his sister's hand and took it slowly.

"I knew that she would leave, but Gaara, oh I thought she'd stay a bit longer," Temari pressed on. "But there are some water jugs missing, so she's really gone to move on." Gaara looked up at her after those words. If you were out in the desert, and so were those ANBU... Temari didn't even get out a protest as he ran out of the door.

___

**So, you're starting to stir up some new feelings in Gaara? Will he be able to find you before the ANBU hunters? Tune in next time for the exciting next chapter of Demons!**

**LoL, well I hope everyone enjoyed that, I wrote it almost completely straight out yesterday, but those last few paragraphs were hard. My boyfriend got home from work and kept inventing new lyrics to songs and singing them at me as a way to complain that I wasn't spending time with him. So I kept having to yell 'I just have two more paragraphs! Damn it shut up!' OMG, seriously.**

**Oh, and I will be posting a sketch of your character on Quizilla with the next chapter, so I'm mentioning it now in case I forget to link it.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**_The story continues... I want to thank everyone who sent in reviews and even the people who thought about it and didn't lol. I'm sorry if I sounded mean before when I complained about the reviews, I didn't mean to. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter ^_^_**

**_.....  
_**

"So, we gonna' keep doing this my whole life?" you asked, catching your breath while glaring at the three ANBU standing in attack positions in front of you.

"That's the idea," the leader replied with a smirk. "It's gonna' last right up until the moment we carry out your sentence. Then it's bye-bye world for you, and we all can finally go home." He was balancing an umbrella similar to the one you had until recently in one hand. The shinobi on his left had a patch over one of his eyes and was giving you a cruel look. You remembered him all too well. Only a month before you had been the one that made him loose that eye.

The shinobi on the leader's right side was much younger than the other two and wore his mask down. He twirled kunai around his fingers in a bored way. He was a new member to the team. _Must be a replacement for the one I got last time_, you thought, surveying your situation again.

"So Fumiya, you still take orders like a dog, running around the world for the wrong reasons?" you taunted the leader. "And you too, Aoi right?" The shinobi with one eye snarled at your words and leapt forward to attack. _That's right... get mad, get clumsy. All the easier for me... _

You moved with precision against their attacks, thinking each action through your head carefully. This fight would be the last one. Every time before when the hunters had found you, your goal had only been to escape them again. But in the middle of the desert, there was nothing to do except face them in a fight to the finish. And every one of them knew it.

Aoi seemed to be the most affected by your taunts so you focused on him first. He was engaging you in close quarters combat which you were only too happy to oblige with. There was no way he could match your speed, or your strength. He was only human, after all. A well placed blow to the chest sent him tumbling away through the sand.

You jumped back immediately, dodging a rain of needles that shot out of Fumiya's umbrella, and had to block hastily as the masked ANBU attacked quickly from your left. He was faster than you had expected. You hooked an arm under his and struck for his ribs. He moved with your attack and brought an elbow up for your face. Spinning with him you hooked a finger through one of his kunai and brought it around, smashing his mask.

You heard a cry of surprise and watched as they jumped back away from you. You were caught off guard. It was a woman. She was holding her face, your kunai attack having given her a slice through her cheek and nose. She moved forward quickly, feigning before drawing her short blade in an attack that sliced across your back.

You grit your teeth and moved away. The attack hadn't gone as deep as it could have, but it was still a wound that would undoubtedly scar. You looked up at the woman's face again. She wiped blood off her face with the back of her hand, her green ponytail blowing in a wind that had begun kicking up. It was the same face you had seen and gotten to know so well back in Amegakure.

"Kanami-chan?" you said painfully. "Why? Why is it you?"

"Why?" she returned, holding her blade at the ready, your blood dripping from its edge. "To fulfill the laws of the mighty Amegakure! There is nothing more important."

You cast a look of pure hatred towards Fumiya who was, as you had thought, hanging back along with Aoi. So it was them who were trying to rile _you_ up. Too bad for them it would only work towards their downfall.

You felt a pain inside you as memories of your time at the academy flashed through your head. All the fun times you had had with Kanami, your roommate... graduation, and then working on the same team together. The betrayal of your friendship burned a hatred inside you that you latched on to with a vengeance. You held on to those feelings and brought them up to the surface, willing your blood to boil.

The three ANBU took a step back from you as they felt a strong force emanating from you, almost like a heartbeat. It pulsed through every one of them, sending chills along all their spines as they kept their eyes on you. Your hair fell across your face as you felt the final stages of your transformation take hold and your conscious mind slip into the background.

You looked up through your hair at the three figures before you, slitted eyes surveying them like animals come to the slaughter. Your demonic mind was one of instinct and anger, now being fueled further by hatred that made you all the more fierce.

The ANBU were now aware of their situation, having seen the black markings appear on your arms and legs and feeling your chakra roll off you in waves filled with pure hatred. Although they had been chasing your for over a year now and had many battles, this had been the first time you had transformed in front of them. They tried to rethink their strategy for the split second before you came at them. You would not spare any of them. You only hoped that once your demon side was done you would regain control quickly. Otherwise you might be inclined to cause destruction in Sunagakure which was not very far away.

___

You let out a cruel laugh, while surveying the hopeless hunters in front of you. To you they looked like scared little animals, barely clinging to their lives in front of you. You lazily licked blood off your claws while watching Fumiya try to help Aoi bandage his middle. The effort was useless, as you knew he would be dead in a matter of minutes, with or without further 'assistance' from you.

So it was just you and Kanami for the time being. Your anger for her was particularly strong. She stood and faced you, holding her blade in her off hand, you having already torn her other arm up. Without warning, you rushed at her but disappeared and jumped at her from the side, slicing into her leg with your claws as she tried to block vainly. She let out a noise of pain as she grasped her leg, blood oozing out from between her fingers. She tried to step away, but only succeeded in hobbling. She looked up in your eyes with a look of fear. You were toying with her, and she knew it.

Gaara's P.O.V.

You traveled along the desert quickly, keeping along the track that the ANBU had used when they had departed from Sunagakure. You needed to make sure they had not found Kyo before you began your search for her.

You couldn't believe how things worked out. All the trouble with the fake search of the city, and convincing the ANBU to leave, just to have Kyo run off right into their midst. You were quite annoyed actually. But at the same time that protective feeling still hadn't gone away. You didn't want anyone else to hurt her, but at the moment you felt like hitting her yourself. It didn't make any sense in your head, and it didn't help that Shukaku was beginning to get restless again.

That was another thing that worried you. Was your control slipping after all this time? You thought you had finally managed to control his sway over you. Was that even true, or had it been an illusion? You held your head, willing his presence back down inside you.

You knew you were close to them when you felt a powerful chakra hit you. You came to the top of a sand dune and knelt, looking at the scene down below you with surprise and apprehension.

The ANBU had indeed found Kyo, but they were not the better for it. One lay in the sand, dead or dying covered in blood. Another who was female, was in bad shape but still trying to contribute while the third attacked Kyo with a vengeance. But when your eyes saw Kyo you froze. It was Kyo, but it wasn't.

You saw black markings on her legs and arms and her fingertips were covered in blood. When she looked around you saw her face. There were more of those black marks on her cheeks, but her eyes... her eyes were filled with intense bloodlust. You watched as her lips curled up in a grin that revealed a set of extended canines. Just... what was she?

'You really are stupid y'know,' Shukaku's voice drawled inside your mind. You clutched your head, trying to will his voice away. 'No more of that now, you brat. Come here.' And silence met your ears. The sounds of the battle had gone. You looked up and found yourself on a desert of red sand that was perfectly flat, nothing in sight on all sides. The air felt stale, like you were in a small room and not such a large expanse.

"Wh-where..." you said, but stopped as you suddenly realized where you were, because you had been there before. This was the place you saw whenever you had fallen asleep. This was where Shukaku was sealed.

"Well what are you waitin' for?" you heard that voice again and began walking. You soon found yourself standing at the edge of a metal grate that was massive but from any distance blended in with the smooth desert. There was a seal on the middle of the bars that you knew was the seal keeping Shukaku inside yourself. A familiar face appeared out of the darkness beneath the bars and you were now face to face with "your" demon.

"What do you want?" you asked, voice fringed with annoyance. Shukaku let out a laugh.

"Always so serious. You should do something about that," he chided you. Now you were very annoyed.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Shukaku's laughs died away and there came a sound that told you that he had sat down. "I brought you in here to talk about _her_," he said. You narrowed your gaze at the demon as you felt a twinge inside you. Shukaku laughed again.

"That's right. Kyo-chan," he grinned at you. "Since you're too dumb to realize anything by yourself. You've felt it though right? It's the demon blood that runs in her veins." You blinked down at Shukaku, mind reeling. You had thought that she had a demon inside her as well, but never would you think... "That's right," he continued on. "We demons can develop a ah, taste for human women, and children like Kyo are the result. It's rare, but not impossible. Our dear Kyo, the little hanyou," he sing-songed. "Poor thing. Must have been hell growing up with that dangerous temper of hers."

"So why are you telling me this?" you demanded, cutting him off. Skukaku leered at you from close behind the bars.

"Because I want her," he said, licking his lips in a very obscene way.

"You-"

"Come on, you don't know how good she smells," he complained. "I'm always stuck inside here, I haven't been out in ages. You've seen to that." There was a slight resentment in his voice which made you feel slightly better. So you had learned control at least. But now you needed to get out of here and do something about Kyo in the real world. You concentrated and tried to will your consciousness back to reality.

Before you could, Shukaku grabbed a hold of the bars and said, "Have some fun with her for me too while you're at it," grinning. You came back to your senses and looked down at the battle that picked up right where it had stopped upon your transgression into your own mind.

You looked at Kyo again. Although she clearly had the upper hand in the situation, she was not uninjured. She had cuts and slashes on her arms from blocking it seemed. The worst of her injuries though was a slash that was across her back. The back of her shirt was soaked with blood from it. You needed to stop this and end it once and for all. After a second of consideration you stood and let your presence be known.

Your P.O.V.

In the middle of blocking an attack from Fumiya, your consciousness suddenly, and quite unpleasantly, came into the foreground. You blinked in shock, becoming distracted enough to not fully complete your block, letting Fumiya's kunai bite into your cheek. You hissed in pain and knocked him back quickly, needing to get a hold on the situation.

A second before, you had been watching as if from the sidelines, your body being guided for you while you stayed in almost a dream-like state as it always was when you were transformed. But now... You looked down at yourself and saw that you were clearly still in your demonic state. The power you felt coursing through you was enough to tell you that. You could not understand how...

With a sharp intake of breath you realized there was another chakra near you. A familiar one. Your hands began to tremble as you turned your face to look. And there on top of a dune overlooking you was Gaara. Was it him? Had his presence made it possible for your logical mind to take over your demonic body? Too many things were swirling through your head for you to make sense of anything at the moment. He could see you; he saw what you were. What was he thinking?

At the moment Fumiya was wondering the same thing. He had noticed Gaara's appearance just before you had, and was still not sure what to expect. Aoi was probably dead by now, and Kanami was in too bad of shape to notice yet. Fumiya swallowed and spoke while keeping you in his sights.

"Kazekage-sama, have you come to lend a hand? It would be appreciated," he said. Gaara did not spare him a glance. He brought his arms up and a wave of sand rose up out of the desert. Fumiya quickly moved away and watched as it crashed down over you. You closed your eyes and welcomed whatever end that came for you.

"Sabaku-kyu!" Gaara said and closed his hand, watching as the wave of sand crushed together before settling back down, you nowhere in sight. Fumiya stared at where you had been, almost shaking with how brutal a way it was to kill someone. To crush them to death. He had heard stories about Gaara... that the sand he kept in his gourd had the blood of his enemies in it. He watched as Gaara moved down off the dune and paused while his gourd re-formed on his back.

"I trust our business together is done then," he said coldly. "I will send a medical team to assist you," he added before summoning a cloud of sand to carry him swiftly back to Sunagakure.

Mid-flight he heard a bit of complaining from inside his gourd. He turned and let the top part of it disintegrate away. Your head popped out of it, spitting up sand.

"Pleh! Bleh-eh... couldn't you have done that a little gentler?" you demanded, scraping your tongue with your fingers. Your transformation had gone away while you had been whisked underground by Gaara's sand. While his 'desert coffin' attack crashed together overhead, you were waiting in an air pocket before he had re-formed his gourd with you in it. You supposed no one would notice that it was a bit of a different shape with you inside.

"I could have just killed you," Gaara said simply.

"Well, thank you for that," you said humbly. "Gaara..." you started, now contemplating everything that had just happened, "why did you... why didn't you kill me? You must know by now that I'm wanted by Amegakure."

"Are any of the charges against you true?" he asked, keeping his eyes ahead.

"No!" You said immediately. "They just wanted me dead because I'm, I'm a..."

"Hanyou," he finished for you. You looked up and found his gaze meeting yours.

"I'm sorry, for deceiving you all, but..." you gave a shiver. You were definitely starting to feel the affects of blood loss. You looked up and saw blearily the walls of Suna approaching. "Gaara, I want to-" Without warning the gourd re-formed around your head.

"-thank you," you finished, muffled in the confines of the small space. You hugged yourself and shivered again, feeling very sleepy. Oh well, you would thank him when you woke up, you thought and passed out as Gaara carried you back into the village of Suna.

**.....**

**Anyway, I quite enjoyed this chapter and I think I did pretty well with the fight scene. I was a bit disappointed when it was over actually lol. Oh, and I posted a sketch of Kyo on quizilla .com, the address is **quizilla .com/stories/12051924/demons-a-gaara-love-story-pt5 **I put spaces before the .coms so the site wouldn't delete them (mwahahaha, take that!) lol**

**Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Until next time :3 meow!**


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